[Added 4-24-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997; amended 11-14-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002; 11-6-2014 by L.L. No. 5-2014; 7-25-2019 by L.L. No. 7-2019]
A.
Appointment.
(1)
There is hereby created an Architectural Review Council (ARC) to
administer this article. The ARC shall be appointed by the Town Board
of the Town of East Fishkill and shall consist of five members, all
of whom shall be residents of the Town of East Fishkill. Members shall
serve without compensation. Of the members first appointed, three
members shall be appointed for two-year terms and two members shall
be appointed for one-year terms. Their successors shall be appointed
for two-year terms. Vacancies shall be filled by the Town Board for
unexpired terms of any members whose position on the ARC shall become
vacant.
(2)
The Town Board may appoint two alternate members to the ARC who shall
serve for a two-year term. The alternates shall be members of the
Board for all purposes in the absence of any regular member.
B.
Members. The ARC members shall, insofar as possible, be chosen for
qualification and training in the fields of architecture, landscape
architecture, construction, planning, design or other related disciplines.
C.
Chairman. The Town Board shall, from time to time, designate one
member of the ARC as Chairman.
D.
Quorum and meetings. Three members of the ARC shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business. Decisions of the ARC shall
be the result of a majority vote of the membership. Meetings shall
be conducted under the Open Meetings Law.[1] The ARC is also authorized to make site visits.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 100 et
seq.
E.
Coordination with other Town agencies. The ARC shall coordinate its
activities with the Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator, the
Planning Board, Zoning Board and Town Board to promote quality and
efficiency in the review process. The ARC may issue advisory reports
or recommendations relating to the visual environment.
A.
Review of proposed construction. The ARC shall review and advise
as to the exterior architectural features of proposed construction,
additions, alterations or remodeling of the following buildings or
structures, and prior to the issuance of any building permit, and,
where site plan approval is required, prior to the grant of an unconditional
final approval of the site plan or the signing of any site plan to
evidence compliance with all conditions of approval. In cases where
site plan approval is required, the Architectural Review Council shall
advise as part of the overall site plan review, in coordination with
the Planning Board. Such ARC advisory opinion shall be required for
the following buildings and structures:
B.
Signs. The Architectural Review Council shall have such authority
over signs as may be delegated to that Council in the future by the
Town Board.
C.
Advisory reports. The ARC shall render advisory reports whenever
requested to do so by another board.
D.
Effect on other reviews. The approvals required herein shall be in
addition to any site plan or special permit approval presently required
by law, subject to the following:
(1)
The review process shall be coordinated to the maximum extent possible as provided in § 194-28E. To the extent possible, the ARC and the Planning Board and/or Zoning Board shall conduct their reviews concurrently, and shall coordinate their reviews to avoid delay, expense and repetitious procedures for the applicant.
(2)
The Planning Board shall retain exclusive jurisdiction over all elements
of the site plan and architectural features.
A.
Applications for construction which also require site plan or special
permit approval shall be submitted to the Zoning and Planning Office
as part of the submission for the site plan or special permit. Applications
for modification, reconstruction or remodeling, or other construction,
not requiring site plan or special permit approval, shall be submitted
to the Building Inspector. The application shall be forwarded to the
ARC within seven days of the receipt of a completed application meeting
the above standards.
B.
The applicant shall provide the following to the ARC:
(1)
Plans and elevations of the proposed building or structure(s), prepared
by a registered architect and/or professional engineer, showing the
architectural features of all existing and proposed construction and
the details of all elements of exterior design, including exterior
materials, colors and texture, roof design (including mechanical equipment
which will protrude above the roof), awnings and other decorative
elements. The plans shall also show the relationship of the proposed
structure(s) to neighboring structures as to height, scale, size,
design, rhythm, setback, materials, texture, facade treatment and
sign location and treatment. Such information shall be at a scale
and of a quality to enable the ARC to assess the appearance of the
proposed structures and their relationship to their surroundings.
Where necessary for such purposes, the ARC may require perspective
renderings or models to be submitted. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
where a renovation or modification does not require site plan approval,
the drawings need not be prepared by a licensed professional, but
must be legible and clearly portray the architectural features to
be reviewed.
(2)
A description of all exterior materials. Samples shall be submitted
to the ARC upon request.
A.
The ARC shall review the exterior architectural features of the proposed
construction, additions, alterations or remodeling, and evaluate them
in accordance with the adopted guidelines set forth in the Town of
East Fishkill Design Handbook, dated January 1997, as such may be
amended from time to time. The standards set forth herein have been
found to be consistent with the guidelines set forth in Greenway Connections.[1] The Architectural Review Council, in its deliberations
on any discretionary actions under this article, shall consider the
statement of policies, principles and guidelines in Greenway Connections
as the Architectural Review Council deems appropriate and relevant
in its deliberations on such discretionary actions.
B.
In exercising its authority, the ARC shall consider costs of materials,
availability of materials, and the needs and objectives of the project
sponsor. The ARC shall make every reasonable effort to find a means
of achieving the applicant's goals in conformance with the purposes
of this article. Where the ARC has objections to a proposal, it shall
make every effort to work with the applicant in developing an economically
feasible plan to address the ARC's objections.
A.
Authority of ARC. The ARC shall only be authorized to issue advisory
opinions.
B.
Coordination with Planning Board on site plan reviews.
(1)
The ARC shall not hold a separate public hearing for an architectural
advisory opinion. However, during the Planning Board hearing, the
public is entitled to comment on any issues relating to the architectural
elements of the site plan, and any such comments shall be noted in
the minutes and immediately transmitted by the Planning Board Secretary
to the Architectural Review Council.
(2)
The ARC shall promptly submit comments to the Planning Board concerning
the visual impact issues and any other environmental issues relating
to the architectural features. Where practicable, the ARC may also
forward informal comments to the Planning Board on any review that
the ARC has undertaken. All such comments should be submitted to the
Planning Board prior to the close of the public hearing.
C.
Time for decision. The ARC shall issue its advisory opinion within
45 days of receiving all necessary plans and materials for review.
If it fails to do so, the approving authority may proceed without
the ARC advisory opinion.
Effect of decision. The Building Inspector shall not issue any
permit, including a building permit or a certificate of occupancy,
for any construction, additions, alterations or remodeling, the architectural
features of which the ARC has not issued an advisory opinion on within
the required time period. The Building Inspector may approve a building
permit for proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling
conditionally approved by the Planning Board as soon as the conditions
specified in such conditional approval have been fulfilled, provided
that the proposed construction, additions, alterations or remodeling
otherwise qualifies for a building permit. The Building Inspector
may issue a building permit for proposed construction, additions,
alterations or remodeling approved by the Planning Board, provided
that it otherwise qualifies for a building permit.
A.
No building permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued until
the applicant shows compliance with this article.
B.
No construction shall take place except as approved by the approving
agency pursuant to the provisions of this article.
C.
Any person or corporation who violates this article, or who engages
in construction without obtaining the required approvals as required
in this article, or who engages in construction contrary to the provisions
and conditions set by the approving agency, or any person who uses
any building or structure constructed in violation of this article
or in violation of the provisions or conditions of any approval or
building permit as required by this article shall be liable, upon
conviction, to a fine of up to $250 or imprisonment for not more than
15 days, or both, for each offense. Each and every week that such
violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
D.
Nothing in this article shall be construed as depriving the Town
or the Town Board of any other available remedy, either of a civil
or criminal nature, as provided by law.
